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Kamiya Kasshin-ryū
' Kamiya Kasshin-ryū' (神谷活心流, "Gods Valley Lively Heart Style") is a kenjutsu style invented by Kamiya Koshijiro after his return from the bakumatsu. The carnage of the wars inspired Koshijiro to develop a sword art based around the principle of katsujinken, or "swords that give life", rather than the traditional satsujinken - "swords that kill", stressing the importance of controlling the flow and pace of the battle to its practitioner, making the use of defensive maneuvers, disarming techniques, and incapacitating attacks, allowing a duel's intensity of potential lethality and tension to be maintained and even broken so that the user may take advantage of the opponent's openings to strike back in self-defense. Teaching Kamiya Kasshin-ryū out of his families' dojo, Koshijiro gained a fair number of students - including his own daughter Kaoru, whom he made assistant instructor due to her skill with kenjutsu. However, Koshijiro was drafted into the Seinan war and died on the battlefield, leaving Kaoru as the master and acting instructor of Kamiya Kasshin-ryū. Techniques *''Hadome'' - (刃止め, Blade Halt) A variation of the Shirahadori blade catch common to all five hundred styles of kenjutsu, Hadome halts an opponent's blade differently. While Shirahadori catches the blade between the palms, Hadome is performed by crossing one's wrists above one's head and stopping a downward karatake strike with the backs of the hands before the blade strikes the wrists or the skull. When done in this manner, a swordsman becomes able to catch an opponent's sword while still maintaining a grip on his own, unlike shirahadori which requires the user to discard his sword in favor of two free hands. ::This technique was developed by Kamiya Koshijiro, but adapted twice by Myōjin Yahiko. Understanding that its core tenet is "the ability to catch a weapon while keeping hold of one's own sword", Yahiko has an improved version against a multi-jointed staff by holding it shut with the tip of his shinai, forcing his opponent into a compromising position. Later, Yahiko develops a version of Hadome that catches a blade between the knuckles of the first two fingers on one hand, leaving his other hand free to wield a sword. *''Hawatari'' - (刃渡り, Sword Crossing) An optional second step to the Hadome, Hawatari is a strike that is delivered after the Hadome has been performed successfully. With the opponent's sword immobilized, the user takes his opportunity to move forward, sliding the backs of his hands along the sides of the blade to keep it in check and striking unopposed upon forcing the opponent into his range. *''Tsuka no Gedan: Hiza Hishigi'' - (柄の下段・膝坐, Hilt Low-Level: Knee Squatter) A last resort technique, used when the blade of the sword is broken. It is used by breaking the hilt against the opponent's leg to incapacitate them. Kaoru Kamiya was seen using this to defeat Kamatari Honjo. *''Curse on the Descendants'' - A move used by Myōjin Yahiko against Shinichi Kosaburō. It involves a flying jump kick to an opponent's groin. This was shown once in the series, as a joke on Yahiko's height. *''Hadachi'' - (刃断, Sword Sever) Yet another variation of the Hadome developed by Myōjin Yahiko, he halts an opponent's blade between the thumb and fingers of his right hand and then, finding the sword's weakest point, snaps the blade with his hand. Known Practitioners *''Kamiya Koshijiro'' *''Kamiya Kaoru'' *''Satō'' (former student) *''Hira'' (former student) *''Hiruma Gohei'' (former student, anime only) *''Myōjin Yahiko'' *''Tsukayama Yutarō'' *''Higashidani Ōta'' *''Shin'ichi Kosaburō'' *''Himura Kenshin'' *''Himura Kenji'' Category:Kenjutsu styles